Anniversary Cruise: Day 8 - Nassau, Bahamas

that's our ship in the background

Well after our wonderful relaxing day, we were ready to go again.  What's nice though is that we had no plans for this island.  We just got off when we were ready (after breakfast, of course), and took lots of pictures.  We wandered off the boat and down the long docks.  The view from the ship before we even got off was amazing.  I especially liked the light house.

we passed this on the way in-so beautiful

The view out into the harbor was amazing.  It was so nice to just walk slowly and talk about what we were seeing and how much fun we were having.  We eventually made it into the main building on the docks.  It was like a tourist info stop.  It had booths for the locals to sell things like AWESOME smoothies, nick knacks, adventures like parasailing (Chris decided against it), and cash machines and other places to eat.  We had a lot of fun hanging out learning about Nassau.

in the distance you can see where everyone stays when visiting the island

After wandering the tourist section we headed into the city proper, mostly so I could grab some Tylenol and swimmer's ear that didn't cost a fortune.  (Something to remember: on board the ship, there are medical supplies, but they cost a lot).  After getting my OTC meds, we headed to, of all places, a McDonald's.  I know, why would we go there?

I just loved the colors of the water and this little sandbar

Chris wanted to make some phone calls using there wifi.  We called home to both sets of parents to find out which families we had for Christmas.  If you remember Chris mentioned the idea to buy our gifts while we were traveling and so we decided to do it all the way.

apparently the locals liked this sandbar too!

Anyway, so we spent the rest of the time hitting shops that we had seen on other islands.  Shops like Cariloha (things made out of bamboo) and Del Sol, where every item does something fun in the sun.  We loved the Del Sol store most of all, but I got a great skirt from the Cariloha store.  We also wandered into some of the jewelry stores (just to look) and in the main streets looking at the stalls the locals had set up.  My favorite stall was one of the older women who made baskets and purses from bamboo strips.  Reminded both Chris and I of our missions.  (His in the Philippines and mine in the Dominican Republic)  We so enjoyed it.

this was from one of the festivals they'd had recently

We did not enjoy the people scrounging or cornering us for money/donations.  One person hurriedly put necklaces around our necks and told us they cost so much money.  We were obliged to either pull them off or pay the person.  We chose to purchase one for less than they had required.  He gave us a dirty look, but Chris is really good at not feeling bad for giving money to people.  I have a hard time sometimes (I'm too much of a softy I guess), but Chris lived among people who were much worse off than anyone we've come across together so he is better at recognizing those who are really in need.

isn't he so cute?  the exact same posture as his mission pix!

Anyway, so after we'd made our purchases we headed back to the boat.  We wandered down the long docks again, taking pictures and sitting on the side next to the water.

After we eventually made our way back on board we relaxed some more.  We hung out in the sun and had lunch.  We played and relaxed and, I know, took naps!!!  It was a great way to have fun on our last day.

these little animal creations were on our newly made bed 

every afternoon when we came back to the ship!

(top: seals, elephant, dog - bottom: rabbit, snake, bulldog, heart)

That night we decided not to eat in the regular restaurant.  We ate at the Sun King upstairs.  It's an exclusive restaurant, but so affordable.  We dressed nice and sat in the beautiful restaurant.  That's when it began to pour outside.  It was so fun because we were sitting right next to the floor to ceiling windows.     We ordered our dinner and then sought some sparkling cider for a special treat.  It was, after all our 10th anniversary!  The funniest thing happened then.

this was so much fun and reminiscent of our dinner 10 yrs ago!

Our drink guy (I'm sure he has a special title) wanted to try the cider.  He was used to things like really good wines and such so this order was new for him.  He tasted it in his little dish on a silver chain (I'm sure to check the goodness of the wines) and said he liked it.  Chris and I giggled to ourselves, knowing that it was an unusual request for someone like him.  Anyway, after the sparkly drinks were served we ordered.  The menu and style of the restaurant reminded us so strongly of the Aerie, another fine dining restaurant, where we spent our honeymoon.  The courses were very good, some new tastes to try, and the main course was so generous.  We loved every minute of it.  The best part was that it was all so romantic.  We had really enjoyed ourselves as far as adventures and seeing new things, but the romance part wasn't as easy to find on our cruise.  (isn't that an odd thing to say?)

Soon we were on our way over the ocean again and heading toward Florida for our debarking situation the next morning.